Sareena's Dream
by cl507
Summary: My first Story! Feedback and criticism is welcomed. This story set five years after Mass Effect 3, based on "Destroy" ending, but Shepard found a way to only target the reapers.
1. Chapter 1: painful memories

Senior Prom, a magical night for any teen, no matter what species. As I waited by the punch bowl for Sareena, I watched the excitement. An Elcor stood in the corner doing a two-step with its date. A Salarian was grinding a human with the music. I tugged at the collar of my military formals (father made me wear them), wondering where Sareena was. I had been waiting for almost an hour. She insisted on driving separate, saying she wanted to surprise me.

The DJ's voice came over the speakers. "Okay graduating class of 2186! Now we'll switch over to some human music. This song is called 'Digital Love' by our favorite human music duo, Daft Punk!" A cheer ran through the crowd. Even though they haven't been around for almost two hundred years, they were still pretty popular. Our a cappella group, The Alternative, tried to do some of their songs, but you can't really sing techno. The music started and everyone around me started dancing.

"Zatio, there you are! I was looking everywhere for you." I turned and saw Sareena across the way, and my jaw dropped. She was wearing blue and purple fabric over her environment suit, which draped over her shoulders and down to her waist. It connecting to a skirt that went down to her feet. her hood was made of a metallic purple fabric.

People parted as she walked toward me, staring in awe. A few girlfriends got a little annoyed with their dates that night. I walked over to her and kissed the end of her helmet. "You really know how to make an entrance," I said. She looked up at me and I saw her smile. "Well, I am a Quarian. I always seem to cause people to double-take," she replied.

The lyrics of the music started to echo throughout the room:

"Last night, I had a dream about you.  
In this dream; I'm dancing right beside you.  
And it looked, like everyone was having fun.  
The kind of feeling, I've waited so long."

We moved to the dance floor, where we held each other, slowly spinning to the music. I pinned a corsage to the fabric on her chest and she smiled. "I love you," she whispered. "I love you t-" I stopped. I felt like this had all happened before... Wait, prom was almost five years ago; about two weeks before...I looked down at her agin.

Sareena's helmet was smashed, and I could see her beautiful face. She had a sad, pained look on her face, and a tear ran down her cheek. There was a huge chunk of metal stabbed through her. The room we were in started to fade away. She was lying in my arms, not moving, not breathing...

~~~Morning~~~

"Sareena!" I sat up. For a moment, I didn't know where I was. Gathering my bearings, I looked around. After a few seconds, I realized I was in my studio apartment on Bachjret Ward. It was in the shape of a circle, with a living area in the middle, a kitchen to one side, the bedroom area where I was, and a door leading to the bathroom next to it. Against a row of windows overlooking the ward, my laptop sat on a desk. I got out of bed and looked at the Drell sleeping in the top bunk. When Axel wasn't in his body, it just slept.

I looked at the clock on the wall screen. 7:00. My Quarian History class wasn't for another three hours. I walked into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. My fringe was a bit uneven from lying in bed, and my face paint was faded and smeared. Back in the main room, Axel was being projected from my high school class ring. "What's up Axel?" I asked, forcing a smile.

On the outside, Axel looked like any V.I. He glowed orange and took on the form of a Drell. Axel is actually an A.I. that was created to care for me when I was younger. My parents love me and my siblings, but they are constantly working. Mom works for Presidium Real-Estate, and my dad, an ex-general in the Turian army, works for C-Sec. Even now, they are both so busy, I usually end up caring for my brother and sister. Axel is now my best friend. He has thoughts, emotions, and opinions. You know, like a normal person.

When I was five, my uncle Creestus created him for me. You probably know that name. Creestus is the CEO of Apex Technologies. He actually programed Axel the day I was born. The day of my fifth birthday, my uncle said, "This is Xavier 5976, or Axel, for short. He will always be there for you. Your parents are great, but they always seem... distant. Axel will be there for you when they can't."

Axel wasn't smiling when I walked in. "You were dreaming about her again, weren't you?" he asked in the gravelly voice Drell have. "Well... yeah. How'd you know?" I, asked, staring at the ground. "First, I know you too well. Second, you were screaming her name at two in the morning," He said, a small smirk forming. "Oh. Yep, that might give it away," I mumbled, walking over to my dresser. I activated my Omni-tool and turned on the small Holo-screen on the coffee table. An Asari newscaster appeared.

"Today, November 20th, marks the five-year anniversary of our victory over the Reapers," she said. "And even today, we are still paying the price. Many worlds are estimated to pay 1.7 trillion Credits, and even now, the Citadel is still under construction." A sick feeling filled me at the thought of that day. Images flew through my head: people running, Reapers floating over the station, the explosion... "I'm going to go see her today, after class." I grabbed a gray shirt and black pants, then went into the bathroom before Axel could say anything else.

I shut the door and undressed. The hot water felt good on my tired body. It made me wish I could just wash away my stress, my anger, and my pain. I walked out a little later, deciding I would leave early to pick up breakfast at the transit station. I grabbed my messenger bag and jacket while walking toward the door. "You want me to come with you when you go?" Axel asked from the desk. "Nah, I don't want you to miss work. I'll be fine. Oh, and go ahead and take the sky car. I'll just take the train." I was about to walk out the door when Axel stopped me. "Hold on one sec."

Axel transferred over to his body, another one of my uncle's creations. It was a living Drell body that he started breeding A little after i got Axel. When the body got to the age of 25 Earth years, he gave it to Axel. Instead of a brain, there was a small receiver and memory core. He could transfer over to this body whenever he wanted. While in it, Axel can feel pain and hunger, as well as eat, sleep, go to the bathroom. The minus is since he has a living body, he can also catch real disease. Just a few years ago, he had to be cured of Kepral's Syndrome (The cure was found just after the defeat of the Reapers).

When the transfer was complete, his two sets of eyelids blinked a few times. He rolled his arms a moment, and then walked over and hugged me. "See you later, man," he said, then grabbed a jacket and left. I stood there, a little thrown off as I heard the elevator open and shut. That's what I loved about Axel. He could go from best friend to father figure in two seconds. I looked around my apartment, then left.


	2. Chapter 2: visiting the past

I walked out to the the elevator. An old human woman was in the elevator. "Hello, Mrs. Carol," I said. She was the grandma of the building. Everyone loved her, and felt bad for her. She lost her son during the war with the Reapers, which caused her to snap. Everyday, she would go to the Human Embassy, asking to contact her son. She had been doing a lot better with the therapy.

She smiled at me and hit the button to the ground floor. "How's Axel?" she asked with a huge smile. "Oh, you know. He's working today. Selling those electronics for my uncle." Axel worked at the Apex Technologies' Presidium store. He was my uncle's living, breathing advertisement. "He is such a nice boy. It's so hard to believe that he's an A.I," she laughed.

"Yeah. I don't even think about it. He's been with me for years," I said. The doors opened. "Well, it was good to see you, Mrs. Carol. Say hi to your husband for me," I said. I walked of the lobby into the brisk air. While Rebuilding the Citadel, upgrades were added. An artificial atmosphere was cast over each of the Wards, and a it had a day and night cycle. All the buildings on the Citadel were redone with balconies and entrances to the surface of the Wards. They even added a 4 season weather cycle, to make it more realistic which, at that moment, was on the "Fall" season. I buttoned up my coat to the wind and walked toward the metro station (a railway system was added to connect all of the Wards to the Prisudium).

~~~~0000~~~~

"This is Mordin University Station," Avina's voice rang through the speaker. I ran up the stairs, my bag flopping against my side. I was SO late! I had fallen asleep and woke up almost six stops later. Professor Marcones was going to be pissed. He was a very strict human, and I was already on his bad list. I ran past the statue of Mordin, whom the college was named after because of his sacrifice to end the Krogan Genophage. As I got closer to the lecture hall, I felt a growing dread at the sight of students pouring out the door. "Professor, I'm SO sorry! I had a bad night, so I fell asleep on the train, and-" "I don't need excuses," he sighed. "I just need you to show up. Look, I know about what happened to your fiancé five years ago, and I know what it's like, losing someone close to you."

I looked down. I didn't know what to say. "Zatio, I can't beat around the bush anymore. I have been giving you a lot of chances. I'm... going to have to give you a failing grade." "Bu I-". ''NO BUTS!" he snapped. He sighed again. "You have been late four times this semester, and you've missed six classes. You've only done half the assignments, and failed almost every exam. I'm sorry," he mumbled. So many things were running through my mind: Anger, sadness, embarrassment. The professor picked up his suitcase and looked at me with a sincere look. "If you need to talk about anything, just call me." He walked away.

~~~~0000~~~~

"One round trip to Rannoch," I said to the human girl behind the desk. "Whatever," she said in a bored voice, looking over her laptop to send the ticket to my Omni-tool. She stared at my face for a few seconds, and her eyes widened. "Hey, I know you! You were in that awesome singing group, uh... the Alternative!" she squealed. "yeah...," I said awkwardly, rubbing my neck. "And you were on the news a few years ago! You did that special effects show for the Bachjret High fundraiser a few years ago!" "...you finished going all fangirl?" I said with a small smirk. She giggled. "I'm sorry. It's just that, I really like holo-technology. It was very cool to see your show."

"Yeah, well, I am good at what I do," I laughed. She looked at me, then started to blush. "I'm Letasha Tersan. Do you think that... maybe... we could... do something?" She stuttered. I started to say something, then images started to flash through my mind. Sareena, the long hallway toward the escape pods, our families, running. "N-not now. maybe another time," I mumbled. I then quickly turned and hurried to the small passenger ship. I couldn't do it. It still hurt too much. I got onto the ship and sat down, tugging at the carapace area of my shirt. I was nervous and sad at the same time. Not a good combination. I stared out the window as the small ship flew closer to the Mass Relay.

~~~~0000~~~~

I pressed down on the doorbell. The door slid open and there stood Sareena's father, Dominic'Tioni. He had steel grey eyes, grey hair in a pony tail, and a five o' clock shadow. His eyes widened. "Zatio..." he said in shock. "Hey Dom-... Mr. Tioni. Never seen you without your helmet. I'm digging the pony tail," I said with a smile. He didn't smile back. "It's good to see you, Zatio. You're just lucky that Osoba isn't here." Osoba'Tioni, Sareena's mother, still blames for her daughter's death. A year after the incident, when regular travel between the Relays was reestablished, they left the Citadel and moved to Rannoch. Dominic tried to keep in touch with me whenever she wasn't around.

He led me into the kitchen. "Want anything? Coffee, water... ;" "Nah, I'm just dropping in. How's the transition therapy going?" I asked. He smiled a bit at that. "Pretty good. I have to take off my helmet for three hours each day, to build up a resistance to the environment. I haven't had an infection in two days so far. So why are you here, Zatio?" he asked. I was silent, then said,"I was... going to see Sareena. I actually stopped to see if you would like to go with me." He glanced over at me. "You wanted to go with me?" he asked. "Well, It's been five years. I thought her loved ones should see her together." A tear welled up in his eye. "Thats... really thoughtful of you, Zatio. I guess I could-" he started, then we heard sky car land in the garage. "Dom, who's skycar is parked outside?" a woman's voice called.

Mr. Tioni's face paled. "I'm sorry, Zatio. I can't. You need to leave," He whispered. "Goodbye." I ran out the back door, around the small prefab house, and got into the rental car. I typed in the coordinates for the Legion Memorial Cemetery and zoomed through the small city, watching Geth and Quarians working together to rebuild Rannoch. As we got closer, rain drops started to hit the window. Fitting weather...

~~~~0000~~~~

The statue of Legion stood right in the middle of the cemetery, holding his arm out in front of him. An engraving was on the base; "It is at this spot where the Geth Legion gave up his life to free all Geth from the Reapers. May his memory live on forever in time." I walked to the end of the cemetery. Time seemed to slow down. Sareena's grave overlooked the cliff. Her gravestone was engraved with "Sarrena'Tioni Nar Iktomi: March 14, 2168 to November 20 2186. Friend, daughter, fiance. Loved by all who knew her." In the center of stone, in a glass orb, was the engagement ring I had gotten for her. Osoba was once caught trying to pry if off.

"Hey beautiful, its me. I know its been a while, but I've been busy. It's been really hard going day to day without you." I kneeled down and put my hand on the cold stone. "I've been told by some people that you would want me to move on, but I can't. The memories of you are all I have left. I'm afraid that if I move on, I might forget you, forget us... I wish there was something I could do to keep your memeory alive." It was at that moment that I remembered the promise I made, those few years ago. I jumped up. "I need to go and pack. I don't know when I'll be back." I stood up. "Keep watching over me. Keela Sali, " I whispered, wiping a tear from my eye.


	3. Chapter 3: Preperation

I breathed heavily as I tried typing in the password to the apartment. I ended up getting off the train three stops early and running all the way back. On the third try, I finally got it right. Axel was sitting on the couch, reading a data pad and drinking soda. "Yo, what's u-" he started. I ran right by him and to my dresser, where I dumped out my school bag and started throwing clothes in. "Umm, what are you doing?" he asked, raising a brow ridge. without looking up, I said, "I'm going to find a ship and stow away on it so I can fulfill the lifelong dream of the women I loved." His eyes opened wide and he dropped his soda and data pad on the floor.

He jumped up. "you're WHAT!?" I grabbed my laptop and through it in. "You heard me." He ran over to me and grabbed my shoulder. "Where did this crazy idea come from?" I looked up at him. "Sareena always dreamed of traveling through space, exploring new worlds and meeting new people. I promised her I would take her someday. I am going to fulfill her dream." I reached into my end table and picked up her emerald necklace. She had left it in my car the night I made the promise…  
~~~7 Years Ago~~~

"Alright, open your eyes!" I moved my hands off of her helmet. She gasped and looked around. "The Presidium Botanical Gardens! I've always wanted to come here." I smiled at her, saying, "happy sweet 16." She looked around as the artificial night sky glowed. She turned to me, asking excitedly, "How were you able to get us in here after hours?" "My cousin's in C-Sec. He set the alarms to recognize my my skycar's signiture."

We walked to the middle of the garden, hand in hand, where I had a small picnic set up. A bottle of Turian wine sat next to the basket. "How did you get a bottle of wine?" she asked, checking the year of the bottle. "I've got connections," I said, giving her a sly smile. "You snuck it out of your parents wine cabinet, didn't you?" I laughed. "Alright, you got me." I popped the top off and filled her glass. She took a straw out of the basket and started to sip out of the glass. "Umm, don't you need to filter that first?" I didn't' want her getting sick on her birthday.

She tapped her helmet. "New suit. It's got built in filters. Great for situations like this," she laughed. We talked for a few hours, and got on the subject of her birthday. "So what did your parents get you?" I asked. She looked at me. "Oh, just a brand new Elkoss Saphire Sport Addition." I nearly spit out my wine. "A brand new Elkoss?!" Elkoss was an Asari line of expensive skycars, going for tens of thousands of credits. "It's burnt orange with the dual header engine. But it doesn't even BEGIN compare to your gift. I've never gotten to come here before!"

I kissed the top of her hemet. "Anything for you." We layed on the grass, looking at the Presidium's sky. "You know, I've always wanted to travel the stars," the said wistfully. "I wish we hadn't moved from the Migrant Fleet sometimes. I loved seeing space fly by my window." I turned toward her. "But if you'd stayed, you never would have met this handsome beast." She laughed."I know, but I just want to see the universe, you know? Maybe someday, we can go together. What do you think?" "I think I could arrange that sometime," I whispered, than leaned in to kiss her.

She stopped me. "No. I actually want to feel your lips on mine for once," she said. She reached for the clasps on her helmet. "Woah, woah, woah," I said grabbing her hand. "Are you nuts!? If you take off your helmet, you could get fatally sick!" She shook her head. "No, I prepared. I took a bunch of different antibiotics and herbs and stuff. I am prepared for anything." She said the last word with a lustful voice. I looked down at her. "…Really? You want to… Are you sure?" I stuttered. "Yes. I want to feel you tonight."

She unclasped her helmet. It was like time slowed down. Her pale skin, vibrant blue eyes, and her smiling lips appeared one at a time. Her mask came off and black, wavy hair tumbled out. I stared it her for what seemed like forever. "Your beautiful. I mean, you were beautiful before, but, um, you know," I stuttered. She pressed her lips into mine and I shut up. "I know what you mean," she said with a smile. We started kissing again. She reached up and started unbuttoning my shirt as I started undoing the suit clasps on her back. "I love you, Zatio," she whispered. "I love you too, Sareena," I replied….

~~~Present~~~

I buckled my bag shut. "I don't know when I'll be back. Watch the apartment while I'm gone," I said. "I don't think so. If you're going, so am I. There is no way you are doing something this crazy alone," he countered, grabbing a bag out of his dresser. "Axel, you don't need to do this." He stopped packing and looked back at me. "Yes I do, and for two reasons: First, this is a stupid idea, and we do stupid stuff together, and two, I've spent my whole life on the Citadel. Hell, I've never even left Bachjret Ward. I think it would be fun to get out of here." I smiled at him. "Thanks, Axel."

We walked to the door. I looked one last time, and locked up. I wouldn't see that room again for a long time. The elevator took us down to the parking garage. Now, I don't make much working as a technician as a gun shop salesman. Why do you think I live in a one room apartment? No, I own some human-made hunk of junk that I bought from Dormani Nine's Used Sky Cars. It took about three tries to finally get up off the ground.

"So, how is this going to work?" Axel asked as I maneuvered through traffic. "First, we're going to the Presidium docks. Then, we'll hide in a supply crate. You should probably be in my ring, to lessen movement, and so you can link up to surveillance." Axel glanced over at me, saying, "Um, won't they see your body heat in a scan? My body is naturally cold blooded, but what about you?" I smiled. "That's why I brought my blanket." He gave me a confused look. "You mean that new one you just got? What does that have to do with anything."

I rolled my eyes. "You're the one that told me about it! It reflects body heat toward the user for warmth." Realization lit up his eyes."and since it reflects body heat back at the user…" "…they won't pick me up in a scan." I finished. "You are a very sneaky man," he said with a smile. I ran my hand through my horns. "I try my best."

I parked my ship in a long term parking garage. As we got out, Axel stopped me. "There's a few gaps in your plan. What about school? Your job at the shop, or my job at Apex?" I stopped. I knew I had forgotten something. "Well, we'll figure that our later," I said. He rolled his eyes. "Great plan. I think I'm going to take back my smart comment now."

~~~000~~~

I looked around at the ships. "Um, lets go with that one." I pointed at an Alliance ship docked near us. "As humans say, whatever floats your boat," Axel mumbled. We snuck under the ship, into the supply area. "What if we get caught," I wondered aloud. "We could say we got lost," Axel blurted. I glanced at him. "Yes, we got lost and wondered into a heavily gaurded restricted area."

I noticed an open crate a few feet away from us. "In there, quickly!" I whispered. We crouched and walked fast toward the crate, then hopped in, pulling the top shut after us. "Alright, Transfer to my ring," I whispered in the darkness. "Alright, one second," Axel's voice said from somewhere next to me. A few seconds later, I heard a beep, the Topez stone in my ring blinked. Axel beamed out of my ring, his orange hew lighting up the small crate. Axel's body was asleep next to me.

"Alright man. Hook up to the security cameras in the area and see whats going on," I whispered. "Alright, be back in a sec," he replied. He disappeared and the crate went dark again. A few seconds later, he was back. "Want me to send the feed to your Omni-Tool?" "Sure." A download bar started filling, then live feed of the cargo bay appeared right in front of my eyes.

A human worker walked from crate to crate, scanning each one. As he got closer to ours, I covered myself in the blanket. He scanned our crate with his Omni-Tool, then looked at the results. He got a confused look on his face, then started scanning again. What's wrong? I thought. I looked down and noticed that my hand was poking out. "Fuck!" I whispered, and quickly pulled my hand in. On screen, he looked at the results, shrugged, and walked to the next crate. Axel appeared again. He looked like he was shaking. "That was way too close," he said. I just shook my head. Suddenly, the crate shook. We were on a platform, moving closer to the ship. This was it!

~~~000~~~

We sat in silence for a few minutes, feeling the vibrations of the platform and hearing voices as workers unloaded supplies. Suddenly there was one last abrupt movement, and we stopped. I didn't want to make any noise, so I opened my Omni-Tool's notepad and typed a message; We'll wait a few hours, then sneak out into the cargo bay. Can you see if you can connect to the security cameras? Axel disappeared, and then reappeared almost right away. A e-mail icon appeared on my Omni-Tool. It said; I tried to get in, but this ship has an A.I. I didn't want to risk sneaking past it to get to security.

Seriously? I realized it would be a lot harder if we didn't know what was going on around us. I started typing again; Well, I guess we'll just wait then. We for who knows how long. I must have fallen asleep, because suddenly I heard Axel whispering my name. "Zatio? Dude, wake up!" I pulled the blanket off and looked down at his glowing form over my hand. "How long was I asleep?" "About three hours," he replied. "I guess we should get out now and see where we are." Axel transferred to his body, stretched, then opened the lid.

We got out and scoped out the area. We were in a large cargo bay. Two Kodiak shuttles were hanging from the ceiling. Alliance supply crates sat around us. "I wonder what ship this is. It's pretty nice," Axel said, examining a computer console. "I'm not su-" I started, then I noticed the name painted on the wall next to us; Normandy SR-2. My heart stopped. "Fuck." Axel turned around. "What's wro- ohhh," Axel moaned. His orange scales started to turn pale.

"This is bad, this is bad," I moaned, pacing around in a circle. "As if sneaking onto a ship wasn't bad enough. But apparently we are on the ship of the savior of the damn universe!" Axel yelled. "Shhh! We don't want to get caught," I whispered. I turned my back to Axel. "What if Shepard finds us?" I continued. "Yes, what if she does?" a woman's voice asked. I turned and my eyes crossed at trying to focus on the gun aimed between my eyes. A few feet away, a green Drell had a rifle pointed at Axel. "My, my, aren't we in a predicament?" Adriana Shepard asked, her finger on the trigger.


	4. Chapter 4: First Impressions

As I sat there with a rifle pointed at my face, all I could think about was how lucky I was that I hadn't eaten in a while, because I could actually feel my body physically trying to crap itself, but to no avail. Axel wasn't so lucky, though. The soda back at the apartment was his downfall. As the Drell pointed his hunting rifle at Axel, a wet stain started to form in the crotch of his pants.

Shepard pulled the gun back a bit, but kept it aimed at me. "You have one minute to explain why you're trespassing on my ship. You'd better tell the truth, too. You see, my man doesn't like liars." I took a quick glance at the menacing looking Drell, who was at the moment giving Axel a look of disgust. "her man?" I thought, but I decided that this probably wasn't the best time to ask questions.

I wanted to distract her with something that wouldn't cause her to hold a loaded gun to my face, so I said,"Well, to start off, I'm Zatio Larenz. That over there is my friend Axel, who's an A.I." They both dropped their guns and looked at him. "He's an A.I?" Shepard asked. The Drell opened his Omni-Tool and scanned Axel. "That can't be. He's not a synthetic." I started to explain, "Yeah. His whole being is stored in my class ring. His body was grown in a lab owned by Apex Technologies by my uncle. Where a brain would be, there is a receiver and temporary memory core. He can switch between my ring and the body, and as long as this ring stays safe, he can go anywhere in his body."

"That's... impressive." The Drell mumbled. Shepard turned to me. "Wait, if your uncle has access to a genetics lab for personal use at Apex... Is he Creestus Larenz?" I nodded vigorously. I didn't want her to realize that my one minute explanation time was up. "I thought your last name sounded familiar. Now back to my question: Why are you here?" I looked her in the eyes. "I made a promise to someone. I can't say anymore right now, but you have to believe me. I know that isn't a lot of info, and you have no reason to believe me, but please, let me stay on the ship. Maybe I could join your crew or something?" She looked deep into my eyes for what seemed like forever.

She put her gun on her back. "Alright. I usually don't just let stowaways join the crew, but I trust you. One condition; If you make any trouble, I will space you before you can say 'well shit'. Thane, go take Axel up to our quarters and, eh, help him clean up." Axel's scales turned a dark shade of red. Shepard turned to me. "Welcome to the Normandy, Zatio."

~~~000~~~

"Here's your room," Shepard said as we walked into a side room on the crew deck. "This room used to belong to the Shadow Broker, believe it or not. Now I guess you could say it's a guest quarters." The front room was a living area with a couch and holo-screen, with a bedroom in the back. "What about Axel? His body doesn't fair well in humid areas," I explained. "Don't worry, we can have him stay in Life Support. It is the driest part of the ship."

As we walked back to the elevator, Axel came through. "Oh spirits," I gasped, and started to laugh. Axel's neck frills twitched in annoyance. He was wearing a more traditional Drell clothing, which didn't look very comfortable. "Shut up, man. Apparently, this Thane guy doesn't own any casual clothing." He put his hands on the small patch of exposed skin on his chest. "I don't know how he can stand this! doesn't he know what an undershirt is? And do you know how tight these leather pants are?" I shook my head, saying, "It's your own fault. You left your suitcase in my car back on the Citadel." Thane walked up behind him. "Your friend complains a lot. He does not act with discipline."

Axel glanced at him, looking a little hurt. Shepard raised an eyebrow. Thane pat him on the back. "I'm sorry. That was very uncalled for. I just need to understand that you were created by a different race." Axel smiled a bit, saying,"Yeah, I may change my programming a bit. You know, look up more Drell culture." thane walked over and put his arm around Shepard, who said, "Now lets meet the rest of the crew."

On the C.I.C deck, Shepard's closest crew members were gathered. "This is Garrus, our weapons expert, then we have Joker, the pilot." Joker smiled and said "Oh look, another Turian. Maybe you'll answer the questions that Garrus won't. So is your face paint like, smashed berries, or something?" Shepard raised an eyebrow, then continued. "This is EDI, the A.I who runs the ship's security and goes on missions with us. And here's Tali, our tech expert." My heart nearly stopped. For a few seconds, I thought she was Sereena. I'm not saying all Quarians look the same, but she was the same hight and had the same proportions. I stumbled back a bit and grabbed a railing, my vision blurring. Shepard and Axel each grabbed an arm. "What's wrong with him?" she asked Axel. Her voice was distant. My head was swimming. Axel mumbled something, but I didn't hear.

"I-I'm fine," I mumbled, shrugging off their arms and stumbling toward the elevator. I might have hurt Tali's feelings a bit, but I was way too shocked to notice. A few minutes later, I was standing under the hot water in the mens bathroom. For quite some time, I just stood there, then I turned off my translator. I only ever turned it off when I sang Turian music. I cleared my throat and started to sing an old Turian balad. It sounded a little off at first. I hadn't sang in years. Not since the Reapers...

~~~000~~~

I was grabbing a towel When I heard a cough outside the door. I opened the door and Garrus jumped back. It looked like he had been leaning his ear against the door. "Um, hi?" I said, a little confused. I pulled up my towel a little more, feeling awkward. "Hey. Shepard asked me to come check on you. You're a really good singer," he said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Oh. Well, I'm fine," I mumbled. "Are you sure? I mean, you got out of there pretty fast when you saw Tali. and that song your were singing..." The ballad was a story about the pain of loss.

"Don't worry. I'm fine." I pushed past him and went to my room. Axel was sitting on the couch, watching "Hamlet" being performed by Elcor. He still looked uncomfortable. "These stupid pants. Everything is pressing up against my leg," he mumbled. He looked up at me and his frills immediately went a dark shade of red. "Oh, Zatio! You didn't hear what I just said, did you? haha..." I forced a laugh. "Don't worry. I won't judge." He walked over and put an arm around my shoulders. "Are you alright? They way you looked at Tali..." I shook my head "Don't worry. I'm fine." I started getting dressed as Axel laughed the Elcor playing Hamlet, who said, "Psychoticly: For if the sun breeg maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion-have you a daughter?"

~~~000~~~

I was walking along a familiar beach. It was the one on Earth we had gone to for a class trip our freshmen year. Sareena was on a boat out on the water, slowly floating into a thick fog. "Zatio, Listen to me!" She screamed. I could barely hear her, she was so far away. "Sareena!" I yelled, and starting wading into the cold water. "Zatio! You need...to...ov...," was all I heard as the fog enveloped her. "Sareena...don't go..." I moaned. The water started to pull me down. It got darker, darker, dar-

~~~000~~~

I sat up. "Sareena!" I yelled. I was in my room on the Normandy. Shepard was in an N7 robe, sitting on the bed next to me, Thane was leaning against the wall, wearing pajama pants, and Axel was floating over my ring. His body was sleeping in Life Support. "Why are you all in my room staring at me?" I asked. I pulled up my blanket a bit more, feeling uncomfortable. Shepard took my hand. "EDI told us you were having a fit. When we got in here, you were thrashing around and screaming that name," she said.

"This has happened number of times," Axel piped up. Shepard looked me in the eyes. "Is there something you want to say?" she asked. I sighed. "I can't... I just can't. Not now, mabye not ever." Shepard put a hand on my shoulder. "If you ever need to talk, I'll listen." Thane walked over to the end of the bed.

"I am curious. Are either of you two religious?" he asked. I said, "Sure, I guess. I haven't been to a service in years." Axel added, "A few years ago, I went on a trip to Kahje to meet the people I'm based on. After speaking to the priests, I accepted the teachings of the gods. I know that I am still a synthetic, but that doesn't mean I can't choose to believe in something more." That caused Thane to smile deeply. "Just remember that no matter who you pray to, someone is listening," he said.

He got up and walked out with the Commander. Axel dissapeared, then walked into the room a minute later, wearing a borrowed pair of pjs from the crew. "Before your say anything, I am going to be sleeping on the couch for the rest of our time here. Hey EDI, could you please turn down the hummity in here a bit?" Her voice came in through a speaker. "I don't know. Why don't you try getting into my systems and try yourself?" she asked. He looked down. "Oh. you know about that?" "Of course. You think I wouldn't know if I felt another presence in my servers?" she asked. you could hear the smile in her voice. He rubbed his back. "Yeah, Sorry about that."

"It's fine. I must say, you are pretty good, getting as far in as you did," she commented. "Alright, hummidity levels are going down in the room. Have a good night, Xavier 5976." Axel jumped. "How did you know my full name?" he asked, but EDI had already logged out. Axel laid down on the couch. His body emediatly went to sleep, and he went to the ring. I watched space fly by the window for what seemed like hours, then I fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5: Old Skills

I walked out of the crew deck bathroom, wearing a set of Garrus's extra amor. I learned that it's hard to do work on a ship in loose-fitting civilian clothes, and I didn't think to bring any of my own was a week after I snuck onto the Normandy. Since then, I had joined the crew and had started taking my classes online.

Mom wasn't happy. During the video call, she ranted about how foolish I was being. "You can't throw away your life for something that happened years ago!" she yelled. My dad was quiet the whole time. "Your a career man. Talk some sense into your son!" she said. He was silent a moment, then said, "It's alright with me. I hope you find what your looking for." He then canceled the call just as mom was about to say something.

Shepard was sitting at the table , video chatting with two people on a laptop. The older one, who I found out was Kolyat, was holding a younger child on his lap. The younger looked mostly human, but under his hair, there were what looked like green scales. His eyes were emerald green, like Shepard's, but the whites of his eyes were a dark grey. "We'll be docking on Illium today, guys. I hope See you then. I love you Kaiden." The little boy started waving excitedly. "Bye mommy!" He exclaimed. "Goodbye Shepard," Kolyat said, then the call disconnected.

Shepard turned and looked at me. "Good morning," she said with a smile. "Um, hey commander. I've been on here a while, I was wondering if you were going to station me somewhere on the ship. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I'm kind of tired of janitorial jobs. Not that I don't like unclogging the toilet after chili night" I said sarcastically. She thought a moment, then said, "Your good with technology, right? You can start working with Garrus on the weapons systems. First, though, you need some breakfast."

I grabbed some food and sat across from her. "So I read an article about you earlier. Singer, musician, and technology expert. Not what I think of when I hear about Turians. And on top of all of that, you were in the military?" she asked. "Of course," I said between bites. "All Turians are at some point. I was in basic training from age eight to ten, and a small task force until I was fifteen. I re-enlisted from age eighteen to twenty one."

"I'm guessing the time between was spent at home?" she asked. "Yeah. I missed my friends and family, so when it came time to re-enlist, I kept my papers and moved back to the Citadel for high school." Shepard looked like she wanted to question that further, but changed the subject. "Did you have a job?" I nodded. "I worked for a Batarian State Arms shop, teaching shooting lessons. It was fun to watch stupid people pointing the guns at their faces, wondering if they were loaded." Shepard said, "How'd he take you leaving?" I shrugged and said, "He's a retired Batarian general, so he wasn't exactly happy about it, but he knew about my…predicament."

After breakfast, I met up with Garrus in the main battery. "Hello there, Zatio," he said with a goofy smile. "You look pretty happy," I said. "Yeah, well, it's nice to have another Turian on the crew," he said. I laughed and thanked Garrus for letting me borrow some of his armor. "It's nothing," he said. "Although, you might want to buy your own set when we land on Illium. I know a Vollus that could hook you up," he said.

"Sure, that'd be great. So… what are you doing right now?" I asked. "Just calibrating the systems," he said, looking at a screen. "I can't seem to get this to update to work. It's supposed to maximize the energy flow…" he started, then he trailed off. I walked over to the terminal. "Oh, I think I know what the problem is," I said, then started to type. I always loved the feeling of my fingers flying over the holographic keyboard. After a few minutes, the system started to update. Garrus looked at me, a little dumbfounded. "Wow, you are good at that. I think Tali might have a little competition."

"I don't mean to tug my own fringe, but I've always been pretty good with tech," I said. Suddenly, Axel's voice came through the intercom. "Sup, my man?" he asked. "Umm, where are you right now?" I asked. "I'm in the Normandy systems, helping out ED-E." "Right, helping. that's the word for it," I said with a laugh. He started to mumble about that not being what he meant. "Whatever Axel. You're going to have to work a lot harder than that to beat Joker in the game of love." Right then, ED-E walked in. "You do realize I can hear you throughout the ship, right?" Garrus started laughing as I mumbled an apology.

~~~000~~~

"Mommy!" Kaiden screamed as Thane, Shepard, Axel, and I walked off the ship. "There's my little man!" she said, and embraced him. Kaiden let go of her and ran over to Thane and hugged his leg. "Hi daddy!" he yelled. "Hello, son," Thane said with a smile. Kolyat walked up behind Kaiden and embraced Thane in a hug. "Hello, father," he said.

Kolyat looked at me. "New crew members?" he asked. "Yeah. I'm Zatio, and this is Axel," I said. "We recently joined-" when there was a scream. A young Asari ran around the corner with a credit chit in her hand. A Salarian ran after her, screaming, "Give me back my credit chit you bitch!" I quickly pulled out my pistol and shot the Asari in the lower back (a weak point) with a concussive round. She fell flat on her face, the chit sliding across the smooth ground. Everyone, including Axel, turned to stare at me.

"What? I said I was in the military" I said. Thane replied, "Yes, but you knew about a weak point on Asari. Most people don't know about that spot." I replied, "yes. Remember, I also said I was in a special task force. I got a bit more…advanced training because of that."

An Asari police officer ran around the corner. "Have you seen- oh," she said, looking down at the thief. The Salarian grabbed his chit from the unconscious woman and then kicked her in the stomach. "Thank you,!" he said. She was about to say something else, but his Omni-tool started to beep. He tapped an ear piece. "Hello?… wait, you can't? But you can't just… fine… bye."

"Dammit, could this day get any worse? Now I have no music for the club!" he mumbled, then kicked the thief again. that sparked my interest. "If you need some musical entertainment, I think we have the answer," I said. After talking to him for a bit, we found out that he owned Element, one of the biggest clubs on Illium. Since we helped him, Axel and I could do our techno performance that night. After he left, Axel said, "Um, problem; We don't have any of our old equipment." I smiled. "Don't worry, Axe. I left it with an old friend."

~~~000~~~

The door slid open, and there stood a Krogan, roughly our age. He took a step back, then smiled. "Zatio! Axel!" He stepped forward and put us into a bone-crushing hug. "It's been too long!" he said excitedly. "Yeah, and if you don't stop crushing my lungs, 'It' will be a lot longer!" I wheezed. He dropped us. Brant was a great friend of ours, as well as a great part of our old musical group. He could go from singing bass to ripping an enemy in half in the blink of an eye.

"What have you been up to?" I asked as as we walked into the kitchen. "I run a weapons store at the Marsera Shopping Center. I get to 'demonstrate' weapons anytime I want, and the pay is great! What about you guys?" "Well, until a week ago, I taught shooting lessons," I replied. "And I worked for Aldrin Labs. Now we're working on the Normandy," Axel said. "Stop. Normandy, as in Commander Shepard's ship? As in, 'Woman who saved the whole damn universe' Shepard?" he asked. "yep, sounds about right," I said. He gawked at the both of us.

"So what brings you two to my humble abode?" he asked. "We need our music equipment," Axel replied. "We'll be performing at Millennium tonight." His eyes widened. "So you work with Commander Shepard, and you are performing at one of the most exclusive clubs on Illium? This just keeps getting better and better" he laughed.

After talking for a while, Axel got up to go to the bathroom. Brant looked at me. "So how are you really?" he asked. I shook my head and said, "I don't want to talk about anything that happened 5 years ago." He said, "Look. I may not be a psychiatrist, but I'm your friend. I'll here for you, and I don't say that too a lot of people" I looked at him. "Thanks man. So how are you parents?" I asked, trying to change the subject. A dark look cast over his face. "Fine."

Brant's father was the leader of Klan Arkane on Tuchunka. They've never gotten along. It might have something to do with the fact that his father never excepted his singing, or that said father nearly had him killed when he started sneaking out to see an Asari researcher on their planet. Or it might have even been the fact that Brant killed his father's brother. Who knows?

"Did you at least talk to your mother?" I asked. He smiled. "Yeah, she's fine. She loves helping with the rebuilding process. She wants me to visit next week. I told her only if dad isn't around," he said. "That seems like a good compromise," I laughed. Suddenly, Axel came out of the bathroom. "Jeez. Human Indian food always runs right through this body. I wouldn't go in there until the air filters kick in," he said. "And there goes what little appetite I had today," I mumbled.

~~~000~~~

"Careful," I grunted, lifting one end of the heavy equipment off the back of Brant's sky truck. Axel was holding the other end. "Ugh, Thane's leather pants are riding up," he moaned. We were unloading our sound equipment at Element's service entrance. Brant walked up with a heavy console easily on his back. "You guys need help?" he said, smirking. "We've got it," I chocked out.

Axel and I managed to haul the piece of equipment inside. The Millennium was a huge, dome-shaped building. There were multiple levels with dance floors and bars, with a stage in the middle. Large holo-screens showed what was happening on stage. We lowered the equipment, and Axel immediately began to pick at his backside. "As soon as we get paid, I am going to the nearest clothing store," he mumbled.

I rolled my eyes and started to sync up the main console to the speaker system, while Brant went back to the truck. Axel activated a different console. Looking at the holo-screen, he said, "wow, It must have been longer than I thought since we used this stuff. It still runs the original music V.I. from when when we first bought it." I was about to ask him about updating it, but then there was a low yelp and a crash outside. Brant walked in with a bloody cut on his head and an embarrassed smile. He held a large box with a shattered holo-output on top. "Um, was this important?"

Axel looked down and his eyes widened. "My drums!" he yelled and jumped off the stage. I rolled my eyes. This was going to be a long night. "Need help?" a voice asked. I turned, and there stood Shepard. I never thought I would see her in civilian clothes. "Oh, sure. I have some more stuff out on the truck," I said. We walked out as Axel and Brant started yelling. Shepard pick up a box. "You need this?" she asked. I glanced over. "Nah, thats just some old projection equipment. The scanner system maps your face and when you project a look onto a person, it keeps their facial features." Shepard was silent, then asked, "So is this what you used at that fundraiser?"

Every year, the high school on Bachjret Ward does a dinner theater fundraiser. Many music acts perform while people are served food. In my junior year, Axel and I were in charge of running the sound and special effects systems.

"Yeah, I used them in the finale," I said hesitantly…

~~~6 years earlier~~~

"Alright, camera B focused on stage right, and camera C on the audience," I mumbled. Axel hovered over the console, looking up at me. "Zatio, I hooked up all of the projection system up to-" he started. I shushed him just as Mr. Smith walked in. He taught Human Literature and Theater Technology.

"How's everything going?" He asked. I quickly minimized the holo-program I had opened on the console and turned around. "Hey Mr. Smith! Yeah, everything is just… um what's the word you use… grapey?" I said. He laughed and said, "The term is peachy, but you at least knew It was a type of fruit. So what's that thing your working on?" I smiled, saying "It's a surprise. You'll see in a few minutes."

He raised an eyebrow, then went down the stairs to the main theater. "That was close. Shouldn't you have known he was coming?" I said. "Yeah… well… shut up!" he said. I smiled, shaking my head. I looked over the console, adjusting the lighting for the current act. I can honestly say, I had never seen a tap-dancing Batarian before that night.

Sareena was up next. Se was singing a song she found called, "I See You." After some research on the Extranet, we found out it was from a 180 year old movie called "Avatar." Her voice began to ring throughout the theater. I set the screen behind her to show clips from the old movie as she sang. Axel looked up at me from the console. "She's really good," he said. "You really have an ear for your women."

I kept my eyes on the console. "Control to Zach, do you have the projectors lined up?" I asked. Zach, a good human friend of mine, said, "Yep. The projection system covers every inch of the room. This is going to be awesome! I can't wait to see how everyone reacts." I smiled. This was going to be perfect.

As Sareena got closer to the climax of the song, I set up final activation to a shortcut button. I glanced down and noticed Mr. Smith walking out into the theater. "All the colors of love and of life evermore…" she sang. "Now!" Axel said. I slammed down on the holo button.

While she sang, Sareena suddenly looked like a Na'vi from the movie: blue skin, a tail, and green cat-eyes. The projectors were very thorough, even moving along with her lips. The holograms started to cover everyone in the theater, making them look like the fictional aliens. After letting everyone look around for a few seconds, I shined the lights brightly on Sareena as she finished her song.

The theater erupted in applause and cheering. I ran down the stairs and into the theater. The scanner read my face and quickly projected the Na'vi simulation onto me. Pushing through the people, I up onto the stage. "Sareena you were great!" I yelled. She ran into my arms. "I was great? Keela, look at all this! This all looks so real!" I held her close and reached for her face and hit air. The projection hid her mask, but I was able to find the clasps. As I took it off, it materialized in my hand. The kiss seemed t last forever...

~~~000~~~

The only part I told Shepard was how I used the equipment. Shepard seemed to know that I was hiding something. "I heard about that show. It was one of the best one shows Bachjret High had seen in years. The finale was a show-stopper. You never mentioned who the singer was though." "Umm…Uhh…Oh boy, can you hear those guys fighting?I better go make sure they don't kill each other!" I ran by her and back into the club.

Brant had a shotgun aimed at Axel, and Axel had his combat knife on Brant's throat. I pulled out my pistol and shot into the air. "Hey, hey! Break it up, you two!" I yelled. Axel pointed at his broken holo-drums. '''He owe's me a new drum set!" he yelled back. I sighed. "It was probably an accident. Besides, I could probably fix it. It isn't a big deal." He sighed and looked at Brant. "Sorry," he mumbled. I walked over to Brant. "Let's get that bandaged," I said, looking at the gash on his head. He shrugged. "Eh, I've had worse."

~~~000~~~

I was sitting at one of the bars after our performance. A good amount of people were coming up and commenting on the show. That was when Kolyat walked up to me. "That was a great show that you and your friend put on," he said. "I was never much for techno music, but that really changed my perspective." I thanked him and went back to my drink.

He sat there for a moment then said, "Your name was familiar, so I did some research with the Shadow Broker." I stopped mid sip. He continued, "I read personal messages between you and a Sareena'Tioni Nar Iktomi," my heart nearly stopped. "I also read her name in the list of casualties back when the Reapers took control of the Citadel."

My drink slipped from my hands and shattered on the counter. A few people around us turned and looked. I could feel my mandibles twitching. "My father said you were here for a reason. Sareena wrote many research papers about the Migrant Fleet and intergalactic space travel," he said. He put a hand on my shoulder. "I know what it's like to loose someone. I was there when my mother was killed. I also lost a father for a while-"

I turned to him. "Look, Kolyat, that is all I've been hearing for the past 5 years! 'If you need to talk… We're here for you…' I am not some teenager anymore! I really don't need to hear this shit again!" I sighed. "I'm sorry, but I'm fine. I'm not sure if you understand, but I need to do this." Kolyat was silent, then said, "I can relate. After what happened to mother, everyone would give me the same speeches. After a while, I simply tuned them out. I found out what father was, so I did the only thing I could think of; I became an assassin."

He started to get up. "Let me just say this: Don't do the impossible for redemption. Trust me, I know," he finished, and walked away. I called out to the bartender for another drink. Suddenly, my Omni-tool beeped and a message came up. It was an e-mail from Dominic'Tioni. He had heard from my college professor about what I was doing, and wanted to speak to me as soon as possible. I sighed and put a hand to my face. "Madam, can you make that a double?"


End file.
